What would they say about you in 10 words or less?

Sunday’s New York Times featured approximately 4 entire, above and below the fold, pages of mini biographies of those lost to Covid-19. It is impossible to read without feeling your heart race and your eyes well. So many people.

We’re at a number of deaths in the pandemic which is pretty much identical to the number of people who live near me in New York’s Capital District. As I walk my dog, meandering our way around Albany, I sometimes imagine every single person I see no longer living. I know that’s a morbid headset to get into, but it serves to remind me of how terrible this situation truly is.

My circumstances have remained fairly consistent, albeit more solitary. I am very fortunate to have a stable income and some savings, but I’ve frequently considered how I would have fared in this epidemic had I been an independent college student, or a mother overwhelmed with caring for my own babies while teaching remotely. Factor in the need to stay home and a lack of travel experiences, and I’m sure I would have lost my mind.

There’s a lot of talk, (in and out of print), about mask wearing and the politics of the pandemic. What are our obligations to one another? What is reasonable? Is this an attempt to eliminate individual rights? Did you hear/read/see what Trump said?

Enough.

If you choose not to wear a mask, stay away from me. It is my decision to make when it comes to whom I am comfortable having within a six foot radius of myself. You know that whole “it’s my body and my choice thing” which I’m rather consistent about expecting as an adult. I’m more than willing to do the same for you.

There have been some pictures of people crowded together in public spaces, many without masks, and surprisingly, those images don’t distress me. Why? Because I would never put myself in those situations. To me, it seems more reckless than almost anything I’ve ever seen and I am not reckless.

I can’t help but wonder how those attending large scale events would feel about trackers designed to document the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Something makes me think they’d have an issue with it and the violation of their privacy.

Back to the Sunday Times, and the thousands and thousands of names… Remember when the number of people dead due to 9/11 related situations seemed like an unbearable loss? How do we process the deaths we’re experiencing now? How can we honor the lost beyond reading their names?

And, what would you like to be said about you in ten words or less?